Pakistan Refugee Crisis

One in eight people fled their homes in Northwest Pakistan in 2009 because of the war in Afghanistan; the area is a "human-rights free zone" according to a new report from Amnesty International. "Many of Amnesty's findings have been widely reported; few will surprise longtime Pakistan watchers," reports Al Jazeera. "Still, the report highlights the grim - and often overlooked - plight of civilians in the Fata. And it lays much of the blame on the Pakistani government's strategy for dealing with the Taliban, which has oscillated between heavy-handed military offensives and ineffective peace agreements that cement the Taliban's control."